Eraser.



N. RANSOM.

ERASER.

APPLICATION men N0v.2o. 1912.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

ventor;

' an STATES PATENT ormon NEALE RANSOM, OF J'ERSEY CITY, NEW ll'lilltSE'Y;

ERASER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

Application filed November 20, 1912. Serial No. 732,411.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NEALE RANsoM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey ence being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to erasers, and more particularly to a type of rubber eraser, es-

of this character, wherein the operativesurfaces are so arranged as to permit the operation of the eraser -1n a small area,'as when removlng but one or two letters, as well as in a larger area, as when removing an entire line.

A still further object is to provide an eraser comprising a. plurality of independent rubber elements united and maintained 7 in the proper relation to each other to secure the desired effect of the eraser when" used, while at the same time permitting the substitution of new rubbers as required.

And a still further object is tdprovide an eraser of this character which may be economically produced,and used in connection with rubber typewritererasers now extensively manufactured.

The invention consists primarily in a rubber typewriter eraser embodying therein a plurality of narrow rubber elements, spaced apart and parallel with each other, and con- .necting means whereby said elements are direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1;

A further object is to provide an eraser Fig. 3 is a detail view of a single friction element entering into the article; and Fig.

4 is a detail view of a detachable clip or" yoke, adapted for use in connection with two elements as shown in Fig. 3.

Like letters refer to like'pa-rts throughout the several views.

In actual practice, I- have foundthat'a device made in accordance with my inven ti on embodying disk-like rubber elements, gives highly satisfactory results, and in the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated my invention in connection with elements of this character.

In the practice of my invention, I employ two narrow rubber erasing elements, each of whichis reinforced, exceptingadjacent to the edge thereof, with metallic plates, connecting means cooperating with said reinforcing plates being provided so that said elements may be secured in a fixed position relative to each other, preferably two such elements being employed. The connecting means and the reinforcing plates, space these elements slightly apart, and the'manner of connecting these elements holds them in parallelism with the operative edges thereof occupying substantially the same plane perpendicular to the parallel planes which the elements occupy. By this construction both elements can be simultaneously applied to the paper, but a slight interval is afforded between the action of the ele nients upon any portion of the paper, which interval is defined bythe space, between the elements.

In actual practice, I have discovered that by this arrangement, matter may be erased without likelihood of (cutting the, paper,-

While at the same time making 'a clean erasure, in fact more clean than can'be secured by the use of a single erasing element, and with less disturbance of the surface of the paper. Furthermore, I havediscovered that whentwo such erasing elementsare used,with the expenditure of the 'same or less energy, the time required to erase a line of typewritten words with my improved eraser is but one third as great as that required with but a single element. If the number of elements in my eraser wereincreased, and the increased number could be handled conveniently, there would be a still further saving of time and energy.

"In the form'of the invention shown in the drawings, I have shown at a and 6 two rubber disk elements, mounted upon metallic spindles c d carrying reinforcing plates 6 f and g h respectively, these plates'being of a diameter less than that of the disks a b. At 2' I have shown a yoke plate, the arms of which are bifurcated so as to straddle the spindles 6 cl, these arms being of a thickness to readily enter between tne reinative range of the rubber disks. The top of this yoke is also formed in a curve coincidinglwith the periphery of said reinforcing disks. 'ihis'yoke is preferably made detachable from the spindles 0d and the plates in order to permit the use of the same yoke with 'difierent rubber elements, if desired.

. In using my eraser, the plates (2 h are grasped firmly between the thumb and forefinger, and the edges of the disks :a 5

brought into contact with the paper andmoved axiallyflof said disks. If the same pressure be exerted upon the paper through the disks, the pressure applied to the paper by either disk will be materially diminished from that which would occur, with a single disk, while at the same time both disks operate simultaneously with a slight dwell between the action of one disk and that of the otherupon the same portion of the paper.

As I have heretofore stated, the combined action of both elements in an eraser made fact that when one erasing element acts upon a given point of the paper, the action of the element 1n advance thereof has al ready removed a large portion of the ink from the paper, or the surface of the paper containing this ink; it may also result from the fact that there is a double action upon the paper before the fibers have been sodisturbed by a reversal, of the movement of the eraser as to have protected any of the superficial ink thereonyor it maybe due to the fact that the slightdwell between the rubber members permits the raised fibers to reset slightly so as to permit the second element to come into intimate contact with the papercarrying the ink. Whatever the explanation, in actual practice I have found that withan eraser made in accordancewith my invention, a line of typewritten matter may becleanly'erased in about four seconds without cutting the paper or removing an excess portionthereof, and that with an ordlnary single eraser of .the same quality and in the same condition as either of the erasing elements of my eraser, about twelve seconds are required, and frequently the paper is worn completely through or'is so reduced in thickness as to be untidy. Furthermore, by reason of the decreased pressure in'the application of each erasing element to the paper, and the lessening of the period during which each such element is operative, the life of these elements is considerably prolonged.

By the use of narrow disks spaced apart,

the operative surface of each element is reduced in area to a point where it will readily act upon the paper and at the same time, if it is desired to remove or eradicate a single letter, or a small group of letters, by merely tilting the eraser so as to bring only one of the elements into engagement with the paper, the operative range of theeraser may be made to conform to small spaces upon the paper.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the drawings, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and'scope of the invention so long asat least two rubber elements are employed, the operative portions of which are spaced apart, and these elements occupy parallel planes.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is

l. A. rubber typewriter eraser embodying therein a plurality of similar narrow flat circular rubber elements which have flat parallel sides and a narrow operative circular edge, said elements being" closely juxtaposed-with their fiat sides parallel and concentric with each other, and means arranged adjacent the center of and interme diate said elements respectively whereby they are connected and spaced apart, said means including a reinforcing metallic plate carried by each of said elements whereby said elements respectively are so supported adjacent the center thereof that the edges thereof are capable of simultaneous or independent application to the paper.

.2. A rubber typewriter eraser embodying therein a plurality of similar narrow fiat circular rubber elements, eachhaving parallel fiat sides, anda narrow operative edge, said elements being closely juxtaposed with their fiat sides parallel and concentric with each other, reinforcing metallic plates arranged substantially centrally of each element, and upon opposite sides thereof, said disks being extended radially of said elements sufficiently to support the elements while leaving .the portion thereof adjacent the operative edges unsupported, and a metallic member cooperating with the metallic plates of and arranged between the adjacent elements presented toward each other whereby said member will be contained between said plates and within said operative edges and said elements are held in a fiXed relation to each other with their edges spaced apart so as to be capable of simultaneous or independent application to the paper.

3. A rubber typewriter eraser embodying therein a plurality of similar narrow flat rubber elements, each having substantially parallel fiat sides and a narrow operative edge arranged with their fiat sides parallel with each other and their narrow edges upon substantially the'same' plane reinforcing metallic plates upon opposite sides of each of said elements, and a metal yoke adapted to be removably inserted between the metal plates of adjacent elements presented toward each other and said elements respectively whereby said elements are held in a fixed relation to each other with their edges spaced apart so as to be capable of V vember, 1912.

simultaneous or independent application to the paper.

4. A rubber typewriter eraser, embodying therein a plurality of narrow rubber elev ments, spaced apart and parallel with each other, each of said elements being provided With metallic plates upon opposite sides thereof and a spindle securing said plates adjacent to said elements, and a yoke having bifurcated ends adapted to enter be-V NEALE V RANSOM.

\Vitnesses:

F. T. WENTWORTH, a I EUGENE VVENING.

- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.? a 

